Drain lock

ABSTRACT

A lock for holding a drain screen in place on the end of a drainpipe has a bolt passing through the screen and screwed into a lateral bore of a cross brace within the drainpipe. The cross brace has an elongated body with a longitudinal bore having left and right threaded rods for easy insertion and the bolt has a non-standard head to thwart removal thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001]FIG. 1 shows a vertical drainpipe 12 which may be of any conventional size, e.g. 3 inch, 4 inch, 6 inch inside diameter and made of any conventional material, pvc, cast iron, etc. Such drainpipes are conventionally laid under a concrete floor such as in a basement or industrial building with the vertical portion as shown in FIG. 1 used to form a floor drain. The concrete is usually intended to be pitched toward the floor drain so that any water will run toward the drain. A drain screen such as screen 14 in FIG. 1 is conventionally used to prevent waste products and debris from being carried into the floor drain and causing blockage of the under floor main sewer pipe.

[0002] Usually such drain screens are very effective in preventing large undesirable pieces of trash or debris from reaching the sewer pipe but when such pieces are caught on the outer surface of the screen it is a difficult and distasteful job to remove them. The easy way out for an unthinking or unmotivated person is to remove the drain screen and flush all of the dirt, including the large pieces, down the drain. The inevitable result is that the under floor sewer pipe will be blocked, resulting in an even more difficult, distasteful, and expensive job to clean the under floor sewer pipe.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

[0003] Brock U.S. Pat. No. 2,531,721 has a screen over a floor drain sump and a circular body below the sump with a central opening and a pushrod vertically moveable in that opening. A float is secured to the lower end of the pushrod and in case of a sewer backup or flood the float will be raised by the incoming backup water causing the pushrod and the float to rise and seal against the bottom of the circular body. When the backup water recedes, the screen is readily removable to access the pushrod and manually move it down in case it does not move down by gravity.

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 3,287,742 to Gaddis discloses a cylindrical housing with an upper edge for forcing a tight seal against the lower surface around the opening in a shower stall pan. A screen inside the housing has a circular lip that rest against the upper surface of the pan in the circular area around the opening. The screen can be drawn down tight by a threaded rod extending upwardly from a diametric cross brace. The brace is brazed or welded to the inside wall of the housing.

[0005] Loeffler U.S. Pat. No. 3,445,867 is similar to Gaddis in having a screen held by a bolt threaded into a cross brace. However the cross brace is held in slots cut in the drain pipe inside wall.

[0006] The patent of Fonoimoana (U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,3381) discloses a structure similar to Brock with a floating seal on a pushrod. However in this patent the pushrod is suspended from the center of the screen rather than being supported by a cross brace.

[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,244 discloses a locking grate device for a floor drain in which a cross brace is held by two diametric sliding unthreaded rods. The rods are pointed to grip the inside wall of the drainpipe. The inner ends of the rods are tapered and are moved diametrically outward by cam action of the tapered end of a central bolt which engages the tapered rod ends. The central bolt also serves to hold a drain screen in place so the screen is difficult to remove.

[0008] The U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,179 to Smith discloses a Flood Control valve having a buoyant valve member, such as a rubber ball which floats against an annular seat to prevent entry of back flowing water. The valve member is held near the seat by two cross members each of which have a central turnbuckle-like body and pointed bolts which grip the inside wall of the drain pipe.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Since it is difficult to find people who are willing to clean drains the proper way, it becomes necessary to prevent cleaning people from taking the easy way out. The present invention enables a drain screen to be secured into place so that people without the proper tools cannot remove the drain screen.

[0010] It is thus an object of the present invention to prevent easy removal of a drain screen.

[0011] Another object of this invention is to facilitate a positive interconnection between a drain screen and its drainpipe, thereby making removal of the drain screen much more difficult. In addition the invention allows for much larger variance in the inner dimension of the drainpipe with which it can be used.

[0012] A further object of this invention is to provide a simple to install and stable connection between the drainpipe and the drain screen.

[0013] It is thus a principal objective of this invention to provide a thrust bolt which extends through a central opening in a drain screen and a bolt receiving means into which the thrust bolt can be screwed. The thrust bolt has a non-standard head, one that requires a special tool to rotate the bolt, such as a spanner wrench with two projections. The bolt receiving means is a cross brace having left and right hand threaded rods with ends for gripping the drainpipe inner wall at diametrically opposed positions. These ends may be pointed and project diametrically outward and into the drainpipe inner walls when the cross brace, which is preferably an elongated, threaded body, is rotated. That elongated body has a lateral through bore with associated threads to receive the thrust bolt.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Further advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the attached specification and drawings in which:

[0015]FIG. 1 is a vertical side view, partly in section, showing a drainpipe, a drain screen and the screen securing means of the present invention;

[0016]FIG. 2 is a top view of the thrust bolt of FIG. 1, showing the head thereof; and

[0017]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the elongated body of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] As illustrated in FIG. 1 a vertical portion of a drainpipe 12 has a drain screen 14 positioned over the upper end to prevent entry of trash, debris, and scrap which would clog the sewer pipe downstream from the drainpipe. The drain screen 14 conventionally has a plurality of opening 16 over its surface and usually has some means such as a screwdriver slot to facilitate easy removal of the screen.

[0019] To the contrary in the present invention there is no means for easy removal of the drain screen 14. Instead easy removal is effectively prevented by thrust bolt 20 which passes through a central opening 18 in drain screen 14. Bolt 20 has a non-standard head 22 which cannot be readily gripped and rotated by anything except a special tool. There are various types of such bolts are available, in this case, as shown in FIG. 2 by way of example and not of limitation, a spanner head bolt is shown. In order to rotate a bolt with such a head, particularly to loosen it once tightened, it is necessary to use a special spanner wrench having two projections which fit into holes 23.

[0020] Elongated body 24 preferably has a hexagon shaped cross section so it can be conveniently gripped by an open-end wrench or a pair of pliers. Body 24 is tubular with a longitudinal bore 25 therethrough and has associated threads such as threads on its inner wall or threaded nuts secured to the ends thereof. One end of the bore has a left hand thread and the other end has a right hand thread. As viewed in FIG. 1 body 24 has left hand threaded rod 30 projecting from its left end and right hand threaded rod 32 projecting from its right end. The rods 30 and 32 preferably have pointed ends 34, 36, respectively, which seat into and remain securely attached to the inner wall of drainpipe 12. Other end shapes can be used, such as a chisel point. When body 24 is rotated and threaded rods 30 and 32 are held stationary, each rod will move outwardly in a manner similar to rotating the coupling piece of a turnbuckle.

[0021] In addition to longitudinal through bore 25, the body 24 also has a lateral through bore 26 which is positioned mid way along the length of body 24. Lateral bore 26 has associated threads such as being threaded along its length or a nut secured to its adjacent upper or lower surface. Lateral bore 26 intersects and crosses through longitudinal bore 25 so that the left hand treads of bore 25 are on one side of bore 26 and the right hand thread are on the other side.

[0022] In assembly, rods 30 and 32 are each screwed into body 24 the same distance and since the thread pitch is the same on each, when body 24 is inserted into drain pipe 12 and rotated, lateral bore 26 will be centered when pointed rod ends 34 and 36 are seated against the inner wall of drain pipe 12. Of course care must be taken to place body 24 to lie along a diametric line and the rotation of body 24 should be stopped so that bore 26 extends vertically when body 24 is finally positioned.

[0023] Thrust bolt 20 is passed through center aperture 18 of drain screen 14 and then end 28 of bolt 20 is threaded into the threads associated with bore 26 and tightened down to hold drain screen 14 firmly in place. As previously stated, because thrust bolt 20 has a non-standard head 22, the bolt 20 cannot be removed and drain screen 14 will be kept in place to prevent scrap and debris from entering the drain pipe 12. 

1. In a drain having a drain pipe with an entry end and a drain screen thereover, An assembly for holding said drain screen in place and preventing unauthorized removal thereof, said assembly comprising a threaded thrust bolt for passing through an aperture of said drain screen and means to hold said thrust bolt against removal thereof, said means comprising a diametric cross member in said drainpipe and having an elongated body with a longitudinal bore therethrough, said bore having left hand threads associated with a first end thereof and right hand threads associated with a second end thereof, a left hand treaded rod screwed into said first end and a right hand threaded rod screwed into said second end; each said rod having an outer end for engagement with an inner side wall of a drain pipe at diametric opposite sides thereof; said elongated body having a lateral bore therethrough, said lateral bore crossing said longitudinal bore near a mid portion of said longitudinal bore; said lateral bore having associated threads to engage the threads of a thrust bolt screwed therein; said thrust bolt having a non-standard head so that it can be removed only with a special tool and when said head is firmly holding said drain screen in place over said entry end, said drain screen is held against unauthorized removal.
 2. The assembly of claim 1 in which the end of at least one of said rods is pointed to engage said inner pipe wall.
 3. The assembly of claim 1 in which said lateral bore is threaded along its length.
 4. The assembly of claim 1 in which said longitudinal bore is threaded along its length. 